Process of oxidizing camphol for the making of camphor.



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. UNITED l STATES PATENT r ALBERT VERLEY, OF PARIS, AND EDOUARD URBAINAND ANDRE FEIGE, or een- TILLY, FRANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1%08.

Application filed August 21, 1907. Serial No. 389,585.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it -known'that we, ALBERT VERLEY, EDOUARD UBBAIN, and ANDRE Fares,citizone of the Republic of France, and residents, the first of 27 RueNotre-Dame de Nazareth, Paris, and the two others of Avenue de la Rpubliue, Gentilly, Seine, in the said Reemists, have invented a new anduseful Process for Oxidizing Camphol for the Manufacture of Camphor, ofwhich the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to a process for oxidizing camphol for themanufacture of cam- It is known that all oxidizing agents transformcamphol into camphor, but itis very difiicult to avoid formation ofproducts of oxidation of the camphor itself. The process according tothis invention avoids the formation of such products by using as theoxidizing agent a chromic acid mixture which is active in the cold. Itis known that sulfuric acid can form several combinations with chromicacid; these combinations part with their. oxygen in the cold with the greatest facility in presence of oxidizable matters.

A very active combination is produced by making a'mixture under thefollowing'special conditions: parts of sodium bichromate are dissolvedin 50 parts of Water. After dissolution there are added 68 parts ofsulfuric acid of 66 Baum s ecific gravity. The following equation isre'a ized:-

I The camphol is dissolved in any non-oxi dizable solvent, preferablycarbon tetrachlorid, C01,, in the proportion of about 400 kilograms oftetrachlorid to 100 kilograms of camphol because after oxidation thesolution containing the camphor will be at the .lower part of the mixerwherein the oxida- I tion is effected, and this solution need merely bedrawn ofil' The chromic acid mixture, prepared as above, is dilutedwith. water until it has become six times its original volume. Thesolution of-camphol is added, in such proportion that the excess of thechromic a d mix ture is one-third of that theoretica ly required. Afteragitating for two hours, the.

oxidation is at. an end; the solution of camphor is separated and thereis added to the solution of the spent chromic acid m xture (spent to theextent of two-thirds) the theo retical quantity of the undiluted mixtureprepared. as aforesaid, the said theoretical quantity being relative tothe weight of camphol to be oxidized. In this manner the same'liquid canbe used over again until saturated with chromium sulfate, or until thedegree of concentration is 35 Baum cold. The yield of camphor by thisprocess isabout 88 to 90 per cent. of the volume of cam hol.

hat we claim as our'invention is The process of producing a solution ofcamphor from camphol which consists in, dissolving sodium bichromate inwater and adding sulfuric acid; dissolving camphol in a non-oxidizab'lesolvent; diluting the first solution with water; adding the campholsolution; agitating the mass in the cold and sepa rating the camp hor;

'In testimony, that we claim the foregoingasour invention, we havesigned our names in presence of two witnesses, this 7th day of August1907 ALBERT VERLEY...

EDOUARD- U RBATN. ANDRE FEIGE.

Witnesses:

DEAN B. MASON, ALCIDE F ABE.

